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Spanning 10.2 square miles of surface area with more than 150 miles of shoreline, Lake James was created by Duke Power in 1916-1923. A series of four dams comprise the lake along the Catawba River.
Lake James was named after the tobacco and power industrialist James Buchanan Duke (1856-1925). Duke was also a primary benefactor to Duke University.
Lake James State Park was established in 1987 by the N. C. General Assembly with the purchase of 605 acres surrounding Lake James. In 2004, Crescent helped expand Lake James State Park by 3,000 acres.
Lake James is now home to more than 70 different species of birds, eight species of amphibians, more than 10 species of mammals and several species of reptiles.
